Orientation

General Orientation

Conference participants should fly into Boston’s Logan Airport (BOS). Travel from airport to hotels is taxi (ca. $35) or by subway. Subway/streetcar fares throughout the Boston/Cambridge/Brookline metropolitan area are $2 per trip; we highly recommend that conference attendees purchase a one-week pass ($15 for unlimited travel) unless they plan to walk most of the time. One-week passes can be purchased at the Airport Subway Station or (near hotels and conference rooms) at Johnnie’s Fresh Market, 1026 Beacon St., Brookline MA 02446.

Travel from hotels to conference rooms from Fri. through Sun. will be on foot (ca. 1.5 km) or by streetcar/subway. To reach Thursday’s events, however, which are ca. 5 km distant from the hotels, subway or taxi are suggested.

• Most of the conference events will be at Boston University, in the city of Boston (near its border with the city of Brookline).
• The first day’s events (Thu. 22 Sept.) will be held at Harvard University, in the city of Cambridge, about 6 km away. This is about 5 km from the recommended hotels; it can be reached in about 15 minutes by taxi (ca. $20) or about 40 minutes bysubway.
• Two of the recommended lodgings listed below are in the city of Brookline, which borders Boston; these hotels are approximately the same distance from the Boston University conference rooms as the hotels in Boston are and are likewise served by streetcars.

Conference rooms for Thursday 22 Sept. (only) will be at or near Harvard University’s Barker Center, 12 Quincy St., Cambridge MA 02138.

Conference rooms for Friday 23 Sept. through Sunday 25 Sept. (Boston University) will be located within .4 km of 675 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, Massachusetts 02215.

The subway/streetcar in Boston is called the “T” by local residents (short for MBTA, “Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority”) and stations are identified on Google Maps and many other maps with the letter T in a circle. The part of the network near Boston University and conference hotels is the Green Line, which branches at Kenmore Station into B, C and D branches. The Green Line branches of interest in booking hotels are the B line (conference site) and the C line (Bertram Inn, Sewall Inn, Holiday Inn). (The Buckminster and Commonwealth hotels are located at Kenmore Station where the three branches join together; Hostel International is one stop away on the unified Green Line.)

Suggested Accommodations

We have arranged discounted rates and asked for rooms to be set aside for our group at two inns and one hotel. You must make your own booking directly with the hotels (credit card needed): in order to secure one of the discounted/reserved rooms, identify yourself as a member of the Rilke Society when you reserve your room.

All US hotels ask for a credit-card number to hold the reservation. Common practice is to charge the first night’s payment to the card immediately, with the balance due upon check-out. Should you cancel a reservation more than two weeks before the reservation start date, all charges (or all but a $20 fee) are generally refunded, but it is wise to check with the individual hotel about its specific cancellation policy.

Bertram Inn & Samuel Sewall Inn  -- ca. 1.5 km from Boston University conference rooms (walk or easy streetcar travel)

The Bertram Inn and the Sewall Inn, under joint management and across the street from one another, are attractive and comfortable bed and breakfasts with ample historic charm.  Both inns were originally private mansions, the Sewall built in 1886, the Bertram in 1907, and have admirably preserved the style of their respective eras. Each has 14 rooms, almost all with in-room private bathrooms. Both offer a hot breakfast each morning, as well as complimentary wireless internet and cable TV. The Bertram Inn has a somewhat larger common space as well as more rooms at lower and mid-range prices, while the Sewall has a greater number of top-tier rooms and offers a more private atmosphere; but overall they are very similar. As the inns are adjacent, conference attendees will find it easy to mingle informally between the two if they wish. 

Since the number of rooms is small, we recommend that you book as soon as possible if you would like to stay here. These rooms will sell out very fast, also because we have been advised that other groups have expressed interest in the same September weekend.  Please note that neither building has an elevator; the Sewall Inn has one or two ground-floor rooms suitable for guests with restricted mobility (please inquire); the Bertram does not.

Both inns have the same three-tier pricing structure, with tiers based on room size. To obtain the discounted rates listed here (which do not include the 11.7% hotel tax), you must mention the “Rilke Conference” when booking. Prices are for one or two people per room; additional people in the same room will incur a $20-per-person fee.

• STANDARD rooms have one queen-sized bed (152x203cm) or, in a few cases, a full-sized bed (137x191cm).
  Rate: $149/Sun.-Thu. night; $169/Fri.-Sat. night.
• DELUXE rooms are slightly larger, have one queen-sized bed, and generally have a desk and a reading chair as well. There is also one deluxe room in each inn that offers 2 queen-sized beds.
  Rate: $169/Sun.-Thu. night; $189/ Fri.-Sat.  night.
• JUNIOR SUITES are large rooms (not true suites), with one queen- or king-sized (193x203cm) bed, a desk, and typically a pull-out sofa or two reading chairs.
  Rate: $189/Sun.-Thu. night; $209/ Fri.-Sat. night.

Each room is unique, and further details are available on the inns’ websites www.bertraminn.com and www.samuelsewallinn.com . If you have special requests, please inquire.

TO RESERVE:

Bertram Inn: 92 Sewall Ave., Brookline, MA 02446  www.bertraminn.com

o   For reservations, visit the website, call (617) 566-2234, or email innkeeper@bertraminn.com        

Sewall Inn: 143 Saint Paul St., Brookline, MA 02446   www.samuelsewallinn.com

o   For reservations, visit the website, call (888) 713-2566 or (617) 713-0123, or email innkeeper@samuelsewallinn.com

Boston Hotel Buckminster (ca. 0.5 km to Boston University conference rooms, with easy streetcar travel)

            The Buckminster is a good choice for those who want to be very close to Boston University, in a busy urban location with quick subway access to downtown Boston.  It is a somewhat older, well-maintained 100-room hotel.  Though not the height of luxury, it is quite comfortable and not without character. A continental breakfast is included.

A block of rooms at the Buckminster has been reserved for the Rilke Conference with a few different types of rooms (prices do not include 14.45% tax):

• single queen rooms (one queen bed [152x203cm] and private bath, $145/night)
• two-bedroom units with two beds (one queen in each fully private bedroom; shared in-suite bathroom, $185/night)
• two-bedroom units with three beds (one queen in one bedroom, 2 full-sized beds [137x191cm] in the other; shared in-suite bathroom, $195/night)
• double-queen suites (two queen beds in the bedroom, bathroom, and private living room, $185/night).

Note that because of the two-bed rooms and especially the two-bedroom units (two fully private bedrooms sharing one in-suite bathroom), the Buckminster is a great deal for those who are willing to share in order to reduce costs!  Prices are for one or two people per room; additional people in the same room incur a $20-per-person fee.

TO RESERVE:

Boston Hotel BUCKMINSTER: 645 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02215; http://www.bostonhotelbuckminster.com

o   For reservations, go to http://www.bostonhotelbuckminster.com/reservations2.html or call call (617) 236-7050 and refer to “International Rilke Society Conference” to book one of the rooms being held for us.

For graduate students:

1.     Sharing a room at the Buckminster is one good way to secure highly convenient, relatively affordable lodging.

2.     We are also working to come up with Boston University and Harvard graduate students who may be willing to offer a couch or extra bed in their own apartments to those students coming from Europe. Students interested in this possibility should communicate their interest (in English or French) to Lillie Webb at lwebb@bu.edu, preferably by April 20, 2011. Free accommodation of this kind is not guaranteed (we recommend the hostel, below, as a backup), but we will do what we can.

3.     In the meantime, the Hostel International in Boston offers simple, clean accommodation at very low rates. It is located about 1.5 km from the BU conference rooms (easy subway travel):

Hostel International – 12 Hemenway St., Boston, MA 02115   www.bostonhostel.org

HI offers large dormitory-style rooms with 6 bunk beds each and a few small private rooms with 2 twin-sized beds. Bathrooms are shared. There are a common area, laundry facilities, and a helpful staff on hand to assist you with your exploration of the city during your stay. 

Rates for individuals: ca. $30–40/person/night for dorm-style rooms.  $110/night for private rooms (2 beds). These rates do not include tax or the $3/person membership fee.

-       For reservations, visit www.bostonhostel.org, call (617) 536-9455, or email bostonhostel@bostonhostel.com. 
To book as a group, email groupsales@bostonhostel.org.

Additional Options

            Additional conveniently located hotels include the Hotel Commonwealth (luxury) and the Holiday Inn (mid-range chain hotel):

Hotel Commonwealth - 500 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA 02215. An excellent modern luxury hotel  (prices $250 and up, not including tax). Highly recommended. Close to the Buckminster and very convenient both to downtown Boston and to the conference site. For reservations, call (866) 784-4000 or visit www.hotelcommonwealth.com .

Holiday Inn Boston/Brookline – 1200 Beacon St., Brookline, MA 02446. Typical mid-range hotel chain. Located very near the Bertram and Sewall inns.  For reservations, go to www.holidayinn.com or call call (617) 277-1200.

Neighborhoods

Tips for those using online booking consolidators to find alternative hotels: proximate neighborhoods are Fenway, Back Bay, and the northern part of Brookline. The Longwood neighborhood is also not far, but requires walking or bus trips (also included in a $15 weekly T pass), since there is no direct T (subway/streetcar) connection to Longwood. (Allston and Brighton are downscale student neighborhoods and could work if one were close enough to a T line.)